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Bungie 'Updating' Peter Dinklage's Destiny Voicework

In one of their many frequent updates regarding the current and future status of Destiny, Bungie answered a question many have wondered about since the alpha first debuted. “What the hell is going to be done about Peter Dinklage’s awful voice acting as the game’s AI?” Though they phrased it bit differently in their own FAQ.

Q: Hey, the Ghost dialog in the Alpha was totally final, right?

“Hey, we read the same forums, my fictional, question formulating friend! In fact, the Ghost dialog has already been updated for Beta. It will be updated again for launch on September 9th, as well. Funny thing about Alpha builds…they’re not done. Please pardon our Moon dust!”

Dinklage’s voicework, and the script he had to work with, was probably the most agreed upon must-fix of the alpha. It was a surprising issue to crop up, given the actor’s talent, but an obvious problem that needs rectifying.

I’m not convinced that even with the game in alpha, that Dinklage’s voicework was supposed to be rough edit or quick take. I’ve seen games with stand-in voicework before, but it’s not usually done by A-list actors.

So, what will be done? From the unspecific answer, it’s hard to say, but there are a few options.

- They could drag Dinklage back in, and have him either re-record his part with a bit more coaching and enthusiasm. This would also probably require a new script to avoid meme-worthy phrases like “that Wizard came from the Moon!” which can’t really be relayed with gravitas no matter how talented the actor in question.

- They could simply filter Dinklage’s voice to make it more “ AI-ish.” Right now it sounds like Peter Dinklage sitting in a studio at best, or reading a child a bedtime story at worst. Some filtering could help, though problems with his energy and the script itself could remain.

- They could bring in someone entirely new, and work with a revamped script. This would waste the assuredly large amount of money they spent on Dinklage, but given what we’ve seen from him so far, it may be worth it to ensure the final product is up to par with the rest of the game. It’s important to note that Dinklage is not mentioned by name in Bungie’s answer, so an “update” could mean they’re moving past him, in theory.

It’s also interesting to note that they say that the voicework will be updated both for the beta and for the final release, which would indicate they have quite a lot of work ahead of them.

In my eyes, I would also work a bit on the animation of Ghost itself. Right now, it’s just a spinning cube, and I think many didn’t understand that Dinklage was meant to be voicing the object, rather than their own character. Perhaps just a little bit more personification of the device would help alleviate that confusion.

In any case, it’s good to know Bungie has listened to fan feedback, and will be working to rectify the issue one way or another. In a recent wishlist I wrote up after the alpha wrapped, I actually listed Dinklage’s voicework as a long-term fix, as I didn’t know what could be done about it this close to release, but it seems they’re going to try and make it work.

The entire FAQ is worth a read, as it answers a lot of questions about achievements, the budget, the beta, and the game’s rating, which has just been announced as “Teen.” Perhaps not as important as a movie nabbing a PG-13 instead of an R, but it’s broken Bungie’s streak of M-rated Halo games, despite relatively little in that series that would warrant such a rating.

The beta begins in the middle or the end of July, depending on your console of choice, and there will be much more to say about it then. I’m now looking forward to a hopefully improved Ghost, in any case.

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